About

$13,357

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The Story

The Shepherd is a 24-page, one-shot comic book adventure set in a distant world. Astrid, a young tribal shepherd who watches a flock of ghazals, must make some tough decisions when she comes upon a wounded Thanacht--a ferocious beast of legend thought extinct a thousand years ago.

Faced with the question of whether to help this predator which could easily hurt her or her flock, Astrid's situation becomes even more complicated when a group of poachers show up looking for the beast, led by Rul, a hardened hunter obsessed with his search for the Thanacht.

The World of The Shepherd

Nathan Sage and Ron Joseph have spent the last 3 months building the world of The Shepherd. From the outset, their goal was to create a world as textured and varied as the world we live in--filled with diverse creatures and a wealth of civilizations past and present.

Astrid and her flock of ghazals, riding through the Valley of the Fallen.

Sketch of the Thanacht, a mythical beast thought extinct a thousand years ago

Rul, the poacher leader obsessed with finding the Thanacht

The Art of The Shepherd

Our team has chosen to take a hybrid approach to the art of The Shepherd: physical pencils and real painted inks give us a wonderful sense of organic line work, while digitally painted color gives us the flexibility to capture the vastness of that world. The result is a remarkable sense of real-world detail, with just enough punch to take us to a different world.

Two-page spread, pencilled by Ron Joseph

Jake Isenberg's Inks on the 2-page spread

Zoar Huerta's Colors on the 2-page spread

Ron's pencils on a page introducing Rul, the lead poacher

Jake's inks on the Rul page

Meet The Team

Nathan Sage,writer.

I remember one rain-drenched day when, as a child, I climbed up into the dusty attic and discovered a box of my dad's old Superman comics from the 1960s. And I remember distinctly that the last one in the series ended with a cliff-hanger, and sitting in that attic with the rain pounding against the roof I couldn't forgive my dad for not having the next issue.

I came to Los Angeles nearly a decade ago to direct films and commercials, and found a wonderful creative outlet in making comics. I found a page of art allowed me to tell grand stories of adventure that I just couldn't tell (at least, not yet) on the big screen. My first comic is a six-page short story called Scout's Honor, with art by Brian Latimer and colors by Tamra Bonvillain. It follows a futuristic boy scout searching for his sister in a forest full of monsters.

I am challenged by adventure, lost cities, and new worlds, all of which I'd like to explore in future comics. But first, The Shepherd.

Ron Joseph,penciller.

A child of the 70s, I was exposed to a veritable cornucopia of outlandish oddities and beautiful creatures; from KISS to Sid & Marty Krofft to Godzilla to the brilliance of all things Jim Henson.
Then came comic books at they changed my life. Instantly.
Every waking moment of my life was spent with my face planted in a comic book. Month after month, I was treated to fantastic tales of superheroes with amazing powers and abilities risking life and limb in a seemingly never-ending struggle against the forces of evil.
They were fantastic. They were incredible. They were amazing. They were my friends and mentors and to this day I try to live my life according to the lessons they taught me.

I’ve got more influences than I can list here, but my personal Pantheon of Great Creators includes the likes of John Byrne, Alan Davis, Frank Frazetta, and Bill Watterson.

I’ve been working in and out of the comic book industry for small independent publishers since the early 90s.

In addition to The Shepherd, I am currently doing pencils on Slashermaina by Freaktown Comics and The Chronicles of Creighton Craven, a sci-fi/fantasy project featuring characters designed by fantasy artist Ken Kelly.

Jake Isenberg, Inker.

I've worked on Transformers and GiJoe, Knife and Shield for Sequential Muse, and Brimstone and the Borderhounds for Hound Comics

Being an artist has been something Jake has always wanted to be, ever since he drew 3 headed dragons in third grade. Superheroes and technology were subjects that always fascinated and influenced him, from giant robots to spooky detectives.

Being self taught he came into inking as a side effect of penciling and found that inking suited him better. He moved from fanart to inking finding there was a big demand for a good inker in the realms of comic creating.

He works primarily with brushes and some quills finding that the feeling of brush or pen on paper is music to the ears. He has been called ‘old school by his peers, a title he holds with pride. Traditional inking is something of a lost skill he feels and something to be preserved in a world of digital art.

Zoar Huerta,Colorist.

Although I'd been reading comics since I was a child, and even writing my own mini comics, only in recent years did I make my jump into the industry. From 2011 to 2012 I worked at an illustration studio here in México, where I met my husband. While I was there I learned a lot about how to do mainstream comics. You see, they hired us as a team to draw some titles for Stone Arch Books and color them, along with coloring some titles from IDW, Marvel, Heavy Metal magazine and ocasionally DC. After a while, I went to work at an animation studio as a merchandise designer - I drew lots of movie characters for products as postcards, notebooks, t-shirts, cellphone cases, and such.

After I got married I started a new chapter with my husband, and we've been working together from our home illustrating children's stories for mobile devices for independent publishers like GrayHaven Comics, The Fly Comics, and now Nathan Sage Comics. :P

I guess my life is not that interesting; my cats, on the other hand, are the real rockstars in this house, you know.

Risks and challenges

We are seeking to raise the minimum amount needed to go forward with creating this project. Once funded, our challenges will include completing the art of the book from pencilling through lettering, and printing the books as well as other rewards for a May 2014 delivery date. We will do our very best to assure rewards are fulfilled at that time.

Support

Select this reward

Pledge $1 or more
About $1.00

Heartfelt thanks and gratitude from everyone involved for enabling us to create THE SHEPHERD. Your name will be printed in the comic as one of our illustrious backers. Includes a digital wallpaper and 10-page prologue to the comic.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

A physical copy of THE SHEPHERD, delivered to your door + an 8.5x11" print of The Hunter, inked by Joe Rubinstein + everything in previous pledge tiers. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

The Shepherd Bundle: A copy of THE SHEPHERD, signed and numbered by writer Nathan Sage and artist Ron Joseph, delivered right to your door + an 11x17" print of The Hunter, and an 8.5x11" The Shepherd cover print + a set of printed character cards featuring Ron's character designs from the world of The Shepherd + everything in previous pledge tiers. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

The Creator Bundle: An 11x17" The Shepherd cover print + a special edition screen printed Thanacht t-shirt + an exclusive video series detailing the creation of a single page from the book, from writing through the creation of the art itself + everything from The Shepherd Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

The Storyteller Bundle: Become a part of the world of The Shepherd. Writer Nathan Sage will translate your name into Pruhii, the language of Astrid's people, and write you into a folk tale set within the world of The Shepherd. Plus, an 11x17" print of the two-page spread THROUGH THE VALLEY. Plus, everything in the Creator Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

The World Builder Bundle: Writer Nathan Sage will write you into a folk tale set within the world of The Shepherd, AND a 8.5x11 custom illustration of any single character from The Shepherd, pencilled and inked. Plus everything in the Storyteller Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

Nathan Sage will write a short scene about you as a character in the world of The Shepherd, AND a corresponding 11x17" full-page illustration, pencilled, inked and colored by our art team. Plus, everything from the World Builder Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $450 or more
About $450

A page of original 11x17" inked art from The Shepherd, signed by inker Jake Isenberg. Plus, everything from the World Builder Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

A page of original 11x17" pencilled art from The Shepherd, signed by artist Ron Joseph. Plus, everything from the World Builder Bundle. International shipping: add an additional $10 for Canada or $16 for any other country.